Lies on the Serpent's Tongue

By Kate Pearsall

Book Overview

In this haunting companion to Bittersweet in the Hollow, a girl who can smell the lies of others uncovers the incendiary mysteries of her small Appalachian town.

Everybody lies. And in knowing their lies, I become the keeper of their secrets.

As Caball Hollow slowly recovers from a tumultuous summer, the James family must also come to terms with their own newly revealed secrets.

18-year-old Rowan James has spent her whole life harboring unpleasant truths--that's what happens when you can smell lies on the teller's breath--and building walls around herself to block them out. Like her younger sister, Linden, who can taste the feelings of others, Rowan has long struggled with her gift, which has taught her that everyone distorts the truth, and no one is who they seem to be. So when her old rival Hadrian Fitch shows up on her front porch--bloodied and bruised and asking for the kind of help only she can provide--her first instinct is distrust.

Except Hadrian's attack isn't the only strange occurrence. Now small items are disappearing, but rather than report the losses the owners act as if their missing things never existed. Rumors of a new monster prowling the Hollow begin to swirl. But how can Rowan smoke out the culprit in a town full of secrets? And worse, how can Rowan trust beautiful, solemn Hadrian when every other word he speaks has the distinct burnt smell of a lie?

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0593531051
• ISBN13: 9780593531051
• Release Date: January 2025
• Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.7" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 13 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 8 to 12

Customer Reviews

Back to Caball Hollow!

It was fun to return to the town of Caball Hollow! This time it is the viewpoint of the almost perpetually angry Rowan (due to being able to tell when anyone lies, which is completely understandable). Things are still not quite right though with memories and valued objects going missing, changing people and we get to see Hadrian again (still dark brooding and handsome)! He and Rowan are the ones to solve the mystery this time (though Rowan's sister always have her back too). You get more town history and how it relates to the Bone Tree. I like getting more details about that, which is fascinating, though also quite dark for how it was made. Lots of excitement, a few bodies, and a comatose young man added to the mix and the stakes are just as high as the first book, especially with nosey YouTubers looking for the Moth Winged Man and ginseng poachers stripping the national forest for a quick fortune and destroying the delicate balance. This is a fun next book and I really hope there will be more, especially after that ending!